Sunday, January 13, 2008

Q and A (क्यू ऎंड अ)

Yes, that's right I now have a "type in Hindi" tab at the top of my posting box. Someone needs to let me know if it is correct though!

So, I received so many interesting replies to my last post and a lot of them asked questions, so I thought that a Q and A post would be in order. So, here goes:

Mrs. Fife asks: "what sort of protection will your cats have if they venture out?"
We are actually planning on having the cats stay indoors here. We passed up one house that we looked at solely on this decision. There just would have been no way to keep the cats indoors in that particular house. For one of the cats, Ashley, this is not a problem- she prefers to stay indoors. For Benny it will likely be a bit more of a challenge, but we figure the house we are getting is just like one giant kitty condo anyway!

She also asks: "how's the weather? Do you find it cool at all?"
Compared to California it is not cool, but it is not unbearably hot either. We have noticed that it is getting warmer though and have heard that it quickly starts to warm up this time of year! I was talking with a store owner the other day about how Bangalore used to be referred to as the A/C city because it was naturally cool and people would (gasp!) actually need sweaters in December and January. But apparently, due to all of the building, cutting down of trees, and increased traffic, they have seen a real change in the climate here in the last ten years. Very interesting. And now Tata wants all of those on motorbikes to get a car?! Not so sure this is a good idea...

Linnakat asks: "are your switches the opposite way from in the States?"
Yes! The light and electrical switches are the opposite and there seem to be twice as many! This is because many of the electrical outlets have switches that turn them on and off. If you ask me, this is absolutely brilliant! Although when recharging a cell phone or laptop it helps to remember this and turn ON the switch before going to bed and needing the phone in the morning... :)

Spinalcat asks: OMG, Lush! But how do you use it with crummy showers and no tub?
Actually, I am quite surprised as to how quickly I have adapted and figured this all out! You just get your washcloth and sink it into the water, get your face (or other body part) good and wet, Lushly lather up, and then rinse using the same procedure! I have learned that it is wise to fill up the smaller bucket with water for this purpose- otherwise when you are rinsing out your wash cloth you get the rest of the water a bit yucky. Coolio!

Cookie asks: I'm sure you'll start missing "good old American something" sooner or later. Perhaps yarn? :-)
Just have to say "yes!" to that one. I am very much looking forward to our shipment arriving so that I have my yarn again!!!! I need soft squishy things to fondle!

Well, I guess that is about it for the Q and A. Next time I will tell you about exploring Malleswaram, the wildlife I encountered there, and our new (little too wild) driver.

Oh! And thank you SO much for all of the comments!!! It helps me to feel connected to all of you and to feel less lonely here. Very important ;)

6 comments:

MrsFife said...

Sorry, I can't help with the Hindi, as I don't appear to have the font on my Mac. Speaking of, how is your Hindi going with the inhabitants?
Wouldn't it be dangerous not to have an off switch for an outlet (a plug point, I assume you are talking about?).
A friend of mine lives in Malleswaram, is that where you are?
Waiting for the next installment.

cindy said...

Cindy..................sounds like you are adjusting well to life in India. I hope your yarn arrives soon as well as your spinning wheel. Perhaps you will be checking out the Indian spinning device called the chakra...

Anonymous said...

Woot! You made it! I've been away from the internets for awhile - we had no 'lectricity for half of our stay in Mendocino and the nearest internet cafe was 10 miles away. What a crazy storm we had here!

So I just got to see all you posts at once. Looks like you guys are adjusting and having lots of adventures already. :D

Maya said...

The Hindi comes across as ???s, but I think that's actually rather apropos anyhow!

Your driver sounds quite, uh, "fun!" from Bryan's post! I hope the car is owned by the company, not by you!

Life is back to normal here... the teens are monosyllabic, the 6 year old never shuts up, and the 9-er is somewhere in between, and the husband is tired...

I've got your time zone memorized quite well - it's actually rather handy, being almost exactly opposite us. So do keep posting! Checking up on you is such a great alternative to starting to work!

Love

Maya

JillyB said...

Yay! I am happy to see you all arrived safely and are exploring your new world a bit. My Grandma lived in England and had the same kind of water heaters, but no shower for her. I would turn on the water heater (it was in the bathroom over the tub sort of so it was pretty obvious what its roll was and the switch was right by it.) like a good 20 minutes before I wanted a bath, but it was large enough that I could take a bath, not bucket. Its a fond memory for me since we don't do that here, I am sure when you are old and gray this will be one of the things you remember fondly and share with your grandkids.

Keep posting so we can all live vicariously through you!

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